Patra Gebrüder Kleiner 1949 Eau de Cologne
27
Top Review
Berlin Nobility
PATRA, the fragrance surrounded by a cloud of the unknown, a cloud of forgetfulness, a time that has long escaped us...
How many times have I proudly been praised for bringing even the most buried treasures to light, yet this time I fail miserably!
The Berlin company Gebrüder Kleiner seems to have produced and distributed perfumes from 1935 to 1961, but the ominous Patra leaves no lasting traces aside from a few remaining bottles and miniatures.
I have searched and researched, I have twisted and turned.
In addition to Patra, perfumes called "Berlin" and "Kleiner" were also launched.
But especially Patra seems to have illuminated the spotlight of Kleiner's perfume creations, as flankers named Patra Chypre, Fougère, Rose, and also Patra Maigloeckchen (Muguet), Nelke (Clove), as well as Patra Royal and Patra Majora were launched and released.
Before me stands a virgin bottle "Patra," simply "Patra"!
I must apologize, for when I write of "virginity," I have just lied at this very moment, as I have taken that very virginity from this fragrance....
I opened it, the bottle with the wide hips and the crown seal screw cap. I was too curious to let it rest any longer, wanting to unveil the secret of this old fragrance, about which hardly any traces can be found.
Even here in the stronghold of olfactory information, there seems to be confusion about it.
Amazed, I must admit that the passage of time does not seem to have been sharp enough for this specimen, as Patra greets me with a surprisingly fresh top note. "Hello Michelangela, I have survived a war, the flower power era, the golden eighties, the resigned nineties, the turn of the century, and just under twelve and a half years until you woke me from my Sleeping Beauty slumber. Be greeted with spicy bergamot and soapy-herbaceous undertones!"
I immediately notice a close kinship to Joya by Myrurgia. Followed by an iris-heavy bouquet, a heart unfolds that reveals itself to me as spicy and unsweetened. Almost as if I were greeting a series of old friends, the circle closes and I recognize the well-known handwriting of this era again: a bit of "Joy," but not so heavy; a bit of "Poesie," but not so flowery; a little Arpege, but not so creamy and with a striking resemblance to "Nuits de Longchamps" with a lot of nostalgia in the bottle.
Patra is an unparalleled sign of the times between the wars, a rebellion against the economic crisis and the unbridled urge to capture the beauty of life in the moment and in a whiff of perfume.
The usual supporting actors like rose, jasmine, clove, and presumably sensed ylang-ylang enliven the olfactory stage and give the fragrance a tart floral quality that spreads lush and supple on the skin.
Yes, I allow myself to speak of old perfumer's art, especially when the floral abundance recedes and a warm, chypre base of oakmoss, balsams, and woods invites one to kneel!
Conclusion:
When one engages with a fragrance from the year 1935, especially one that has certainly not been neutered, rejuvenated, or reformulated in any way, one is facing a piece of history. It would therefore be absolutely inappropriate to expect to encounter a "youthful" fashionable specimen. Surely we must not expect the (chemical) sophistication that we encounter in a fragrance of today.
Nevertheless, I cannot claim that this fragrance is not wearable.
Vintage takes on a meaning here that sounds very appealing: to revive the old, unforgettable beauty and give it new luster.
I do not regret having desecrated the holy grail (the unopened bottle), for I think the moment has come when I declare:
Patra is a fragrance that deserves to be worn!
I just need the right occasion for it...
.
.
.
.
^^(Scotty, beam me over to Berlin in 1935!)^^
How many times have I proudly been praised for bringing even the most buried treasures to light, yet this time I fail miserably!
The Berlin company Gebrüder Kleiner seems to have produced and distributed perfumes from 1935 to 1961, but the ominous Patra leaves no lasting traces aside from a few remaining bottles and miniatures.
I have searched and researched, I have twisted and turned.
In addition to Patra, perfumes called "Berlin" and "Kleiner" were also launched.
But especially Patra seems to have illuminated the spotlight of Kleiner's perfume creations, as flankers named Patra Chypre, Fougère, Rose, and also Patra Maigloeckchen (Muguet), Nelke (Clove), as well as Patra Royal and Patra Majora were launched and released.
Before me stands a virgin bottle "Patra," simply "Patra"!
I must apologize, for when I write of "virginity," I have just lied at this very moment, as I have taken that very virginity from this fragrance....
I opened it, the bottle with the wide hips and the crown seal screw cap. I was too curious to let it rest any longer, wanting to unveil the secret of this old fragrance, about which hardly any traces can be found.
Even here in the stronghold of olfactory information, there seems to be confusion about it.
Amazed, I must admit that the passage of time does not seem to have been sharp enough for this specimen, as Patra greets me with a surprisingly fresh top note. "Hello Michelangela, I have survived a war, the flower power era, the golden eighties, the resigned nineties, the turn of the century, and just under twelve and a half years until you woke me from my Sleeping Beauty slumber. Be greeted with spicy bergamot and soapy-herbaceous undertones!"
I immediately notice a close kinship to Joya by Myrurgia. Followed by an iris-heavy bouquet, a heart unfolds that reveals itself to me as spicy and unsweetened. Almost as if I were greeting a series of old friends, the circle closes and I recognize the well-known handwriting of this era again: a bit of "Joy," but not so heavy; a bit of "Poesie," but not so flowery; a little Arpege, but not so creamy and with a striking resemblance to "Nuits de Longchamps" with a lot of nostalgia in the bottle.
Patra is an unparalleled sign of the times between the wars, a rebellion against the economic crisis and the unbridled urge to capture the beauty of life in the moment and in a whiff of perfume.
The usual supporting actors like rose, jasmine, clove, and presumably sensed ylang-ylang enliven the olfactory stage and give the fragrance a tart floral quality that spreads lush and supple on the skin.
Yes, I allow myself to speak of old perfumer's art, especially when the floral abundance recedes and a warm, chypre base of oakmoss, balsams, and woods invites one to kneel!
Conclusion:
When one engages with a fragrance from the year 1935, especially one that has certainly not been neutered, rejuvenated, or reformulated in any way, one is facing a piece of history. It would therefore be absolutely inappropriate to expect to encounter a "youthful" fashionable specimen. Surely we must not expect the (chemical) sophistication that we encounter in a fragrance of today.
Nevertheless, I cannot claim that this fragrance is not wearable.
Vintage takes on a meaning here that sounds very appealing: to revive the old, unforgettable beauty and give it new luster.
I do not regret having desecrated the holy grail (the unopened bottle), for I think the moment has come when I declare:
Patra is a fragrance that deserves to be worn!
I just need the right occasion for it...
.
.
.
.
^^(Scotty, beam me over to Berlin in 1935!)^^
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12 Comments
(under-der-lupe-patra-ihr-parfuem-in-aller-welt).
If nothing else (like Eau de Cologne) is written on the bottle, it’s probably the perfume? There’s now also an entry and a photo of it (looks exactly like my little bottle).